A Belated Halloween
by WooperPooper
Summary: Zoey celebrates a late Halloween with the others at Bill's house. The night starts out fun, but this festive time is soon cut short as someone is found dead. One by one they start disappearing, and it's up to the remaining few to figure out why.


Happy belated Halloween everyone!

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><p>Halloween had never been one of Zoey's favorite holidays, and though this opinion was prone to change, she was well aware of her stubborn attitude when it came to altering her tastes. Despite the holiday incorporating a multitude of Zoey's loved subjects (blood, gore, zombies, candy), all the hype and huge corporations killed the immense potential Halloween held. Everything from decorations to recent horror movies became more and more cheap with the passing days. Movies had overkill of blood (the only horrible thing about them was the acting), corporations made cheap and superficial furnishings for the yard, and what Zoey disliked most was how artificial fear had become in society. Nothing could beat the old movies or tales where genuine terror spread over towns like melting bread on butter; why no, instead, these memories and urban legends faded with the past, along with fear itself.<p>

Nothing seemed real anymore; sure, there were exceptions for some well-directed movies and certain decorations, but the excess of faux horror far surpassed Zoey's toleration line. She could only hope tonight would make up for how dreadful the past month had been for her; it was filled with all the wrong kind of dread.

Shit right, tonight.

Although Halloween was nearly a week ago, Zoey (along with other concerned college kids) didn't celebrate the holiday with any friends because of crucial lessons in her courses. Classes weren't exactly her preferred way of spending time, but a certain man with a tow-truck hat encouraged her to stay active in school and not ditch or dropout. In fact, today was the day all the college folk at her school deemed their Halloween. Streets would be filled with mobs of them, dressed up, and ready to party. Non-college people knew better than to prowl about the streets this late at night with the sudden coming of her kind; they'd remain cozy at home watching over their sugar-high kids.

Focus Zoey, focus. Where was she again?

That's right.

Zoey forgot she was sprinting out her dormitory toward her college's entrance. The girl had fallen asleep watching a movie for one of her film study courses in her room and woke up only to find out she overslept. If her carpool had arrived on time, he would have been waiting for at least ten minutes. There was no way Zoey could extend his wait. Being tardy to class was acceptable to her, but to be late and make him of all people wait? Nope. What great priorities she had, she sarcastically thought.

After running by a marble abstract statue, Zoey turned left and glanced at a somewhat distant clock tower.

Ten twenty.

Damnit, she had taken an extra ten minutes to shower and change. There was the chance her carpool could have arrived late and didn't wait as long as she imagined, but she ignored the incredulous thought. Out of all people, he would most definitely arrive on time.

After all, he was quite the gentleman to her.

The entrances were approaching fast. Thank god, Zoey thought, and she slowed to a walking pace.

There were only a few reasons why she was able to scurry across the campus so quickly. One, it could never hurt to be in shape. Two, it was better safe than sorry for her to be in shape in case a zombie apocalypse hit. Three… well, there was no three, unless the girl counted how her parents nagged for her to be in shape for aesthetic purposes.

Zoey took a deep breath and wandered outside her school's walled entrance, hoping she wasn't too late.

The sight the brunette saw was exactly what she pictured in her head and a smile managed to escape her stern lips. A mechanic in a light goldenrod shirt twiddled with the cap of his blue tow trucker hat, blue eyes focused at its curved surface. The car's headlights he was leaning against illuminated the brown locks of hair escaping from his hat and overall created a heavenly glow around his body's entirety.

He never failed to be a pleasant sight.

"Ellis!" Zoey waved and walked towards him and his car parked close-by the school's entrance. The second her voice rang his whole body jolted up and turned to look at Zoey.

"Zo!" Ellis glanced at her then shifted his brief gaze to stare at his feet, "Thought you weren't comin' for a minute. I mean you go to college 'n' shit so you probably have a lot of work to do."

"Sorry Ellis," his head perked up at the sound of his name, "I sort of slept in. Should we get going?" She shot him a friendly smile, only for the mechanic to reply with one of his own.

Damn, his smiles were contagious.

"Of course darlin'. You got everything you need?"

"I think so," Zoey patted her pockets feeling the few objects resting in them. Everything that could be considered a necessity was at her disposal: her wallet with some money and her I.D., keys to her house and the film equipment room, and a forty-percent off coupon when buying two or more jars of peanut butter for the local market. And yet, there was this inescapable itching in her head telling her she was forgetting something, but unfortunately, she was forgetting what she forgot. What was it?

"I brought an extra bag of chips in case you didn't bring nothin'. Money seems hard to come by in college," Ellis looked to the side and scratched the back of his neck; the slightest tinge of pink highlighted the mechanic's cheeks. The girl couldn't suppress her growing smile. So that's what she failed to remember.

"Thanks Ellis. Bringing food slipped my mind completely… Sorry about that. I didn't keep you waiting too long at least, did I?"  
>"Not at all Zo!" His bashful expression was soon replaced with a joyful one. Ellis almost seemed more courageous when he peered back at her, "I was thinkin' you'd sleep in a bit, so I wasn't thrown off at all. I don't mind waitin' for you Zo."<p>

She laughed at his open kindness. Whether he said it without thinking or not didn't matter to her, "I guess you know me pretty well then, don't you?"

"Not as well I want to," Ellis's eyes widened, probably at the realization of what he just said Zoey hypothesized, and he pulled his hat over his eyes and tilted his head down, "I mean we haven't known each other for a long-long time, but it's been kind of long, but not exactly the longest of long times a long time could be..."

The mechanic could get so flustered easily, she thought. As jumbled and rushed as his sentence was, he did highlight a point of interest Zoey had been thinking about over the weekend. Their group hadn't known each other for the longest time, maybe three-quarters a year at most? Zoey had always been terrible at keeping track of time. But, that was beside the point. No matter how long the two of them had known each other along with the others they were about to meet up with, it felt like everyone had known each other much longer than the factual length. A close-knit circle of friends was what they all were. How the group all met each other was an entire story in itself, but Zoey didn't feel the need to reflect on the memory, "Should we be on our way then?"

"Alright! Let's get goin' then. I'm sure Nick and them are there already. Dunno 'bout Francis though… he's usually late because of some crazy shit with his motorcycle," almost as if he never pulled his hat over his face, Ellis opened the passenger door gleefully and gestured for Zoey to get in, "after you m'dear."

"Thanks Ellis," she walked over and positioned herself in the seat.

This was one of the few times Zoey had ever been in Ellis's car. The interior of the car was grey, contrasting with the pale blue and white outside; the seats made of a leather-like material; and there were crumpled papers scattered about the car. If she remembered correctly, this car was a hand-me down from Ellis's mom. He managed to fix it and expand its capabilities resulting in a generally better-run car.

Ellis hopped into the driver's seat from the other side of the car, closed the door, and buckled his seatbelt, "Ready darlin'?"

He always referred to her with the sweetest of nicknames despite how negatively she perceived herself to be at times (and tomboy-esque, her mother would say). Although it was natural for him to use such pet names anyone and everyone, she couldn't help but enjoy it. She wasn't accustomed to this sort of treatment.

"Ready. It shouldn't take too long to get there right?" She snapped her seatbelt into place and glanced back at the college. Looking at the enormous, vacated structure while it was dark out gave her an eerie sensation in contrast to its usual populated state. Most of the students had left to party at bars and various places around the city, the sort of activities Zoey wasn't interested in. Instead, she was ready to join other friends: an escapade from the college atmosphere.

"Don't think it should! I just didn't want you to walk to Bill's all by yourself or nothin'," Ellis put the key into the ignition and turned it, bringing the car to a roaring start. He glanced left behind him to confirm whether or not the street was safe to merge into.

"I just hope we don't frustrate anyone for being late," Zoey sunk into the back of the chair.  
>"Don't worry Zo," Ellis said as he eased onto the pedal and pulled into the street, "No one could ever be mad at you."<p>

"Holy shit this place is huge!"

"Even though it's our third or fourth visit here, I still can't get over the size…"  
>"It's as big as this one field with horses I saw in my dream once. There were horses and Keith and awesome shit everywhere!"<p>

The drive to their destination hadn't taken as long as Zoey expected. Most of the people in town were walking around in Halloween outfits instead of driving. Driving around in Halloween apparel, especially if you were wearing a clunky outfit, wasn't exactly the easiest task. Many times if not costumes were too big, too tight, or just too much of a distraction to focus on operating a car safely in, so traffic wasn't an obstacle on Ellis and Zoey's way over. Without the traffic it took around fifteen leisurely minutes of talking, laughing, and discussing the most obscure things happening in their lives to reach the house.

"Crazy how Bill lives in a huge old place like this. I mean, god damn, he's as old as mountains!" Ellis exclaimed as they walked up a tiled path lined with vibrant green shrubs leading to the front door.

"Seriously," Zoey replied, " has he ever told you how he affords it?"

"Can't reckon he has."

"Same," they both laughed.

Zoey looked around at Bill's front yard. It would have looked normal, if it weren't for how large the lawn was. From the front, his house on the outside was entirely symmetrical. It was all lawn with a grey tiled walkway, separating the lawn in half, directing people to mahogany double doors.

The ecru tinted house itself mimicked the yard's unadorned symmetry. There were two stories to the house; the first story had two glassy windows placed evenly between the double doors and the ends of the house, while the second floor displayed four evenly spaced translucent windows proudly.

How Bill managed to keep all the rooms well kept and not a total mess was a mystery to Zoey. Maintaining a decently clean dorm room proved a hardy challenge to her already.

"Well shit, Francis beat us here," Ellis pointed out a bulky motorcycle parked a few feet outside the double doors, "guess he didn't learn from last time, huh?"

"Francis will never park on the street as long as we come here. I can guarantee that. It bothers Bill too much for him not to park by the door," she snickered, and then shot a curious look at the mechanic, "you got your food right?"

"You mean our food!" He put an emphasis on "our" and raised a plastic bag with chip bags and peanut butter to show Zoey.

"Good, because I have a weird feeling Francis will have a bone to pick with us. Having food might distract him though."

The duo arrived at the front doors. Ellis put his face against a glass part of the door and squinted his eyes, attempting to see inside, "You think anyone's there-"

Immediately the door Ellis was leaning against swung inward causing the mechanic to fall forward. A husky man with tattoos plastered all over his arms bellowed at the sight of the falling twenty-three year old.

"The hell are you doing Ellis? Hugging the floor?"

The fallen Ellis hopped steadily back to his feet and stood up grinning from ear to ear at the taller man, "Floor's too big to be hugged man, I've tried."

"Me too. It's just too big," the older male ogled at the plastic bag, but crossed his arms and adjusted his line of sight to Zoey, "So, what makes you so late missy? You always nag at me for being late."

"No I don't Francis, I nag at how you never flush after taking a huge crap and almost suffocate whoever uses the bathroom next," Zoey stuck her tongue at the man as she stepped through the doorway. At least Bill's entryway was more intimate than the immense front yard, she thought. The walls were a darker brown with white crown molding and hoisted framed pictures. Zoey couldn't count how many times she looked at them. There were pictures of the war, of veterans, of friends, and of guns; of so many subjects Zoey still hadn't memorized half of them. These framed memories were spread throughout the hallways of the house, and impressed her to no end.

Francis waved a hand at her, "Whatever, same thing!"

"Takin' a shit and being late are the same thing? Since when?" Ellis had a genuine look of confusion on his face.

"Don't worry Ellis, they're not. Francis is just being a numb nut."

"Hey! You're the one who's numb."

"I sure can feel more then you."

"At least I'm the one with nuts!" Francis puffed his chest out and pointed at it with his thumb.

Zoey stifled a laugh and kicked off her shoes, "You go ahead and be proud of that Francis."

"Where're the others? Ya'll here?" Ellis had already taken his shoes off and was waiting for Zoey before continuing further into the house.

"Everyone else is here. Nick, Rochelle, and Louis are all in the usual place. Coach is cooking some food, and Bill… I don't know where the hell that old man went," Francis turned his back to the front door and walked through an opening ahead of him, "Hurry up! I'm starving!"

"Shut up you greasy ape!" A voice came from the room Francis was already in.

Zoey smiled at Ellis, "We're finally all together again."

"Got that right."

The two walked into the next room and were greeted by a chirpy voice, "Ellis! Zoey! You made it! You know, Nick and I-"

"Not me just you," Nick interrupted.

"-were afraid you wouldn't be able to come," a woman in a pink shirt and jeans waved at them. She was sitting with a magazine on a couch with a man in a white suit sprawled out occupying the rest of the furniture piece.

"Hey Rochelle," Zoey waved back at her, "Nice to see you again."

"It really is. It'll be nice to have some one-on-one time with another girl. You don't know how much I've had to interact with guys at work, not that there's anything wrong with that."

The suited man's head was at the opposite end of the couch from Ro, and he raised it a little to look at her, "You talk to a lot of men?"

"Well I have to Nick, it's part of my job."

Nick almost looked relieved, shrugged, and leaned his head back on the arm of the couch, "Just asking… as long as they're not like that sweaty ape over there."

"At least I don't smell like perfume from the woman's department," Francis pretended to curtsy.

"It's cologne you ass."

"Hey now fellas, ya'll smell good, kinda. Ya'll aren't a field of flowers or nothin'," Ellis commented.

Zoey laughed a little and looked around at the room. Whenever the group got together, they all spent the most amount of time in this area. There were two couches to the right of the room where Nick and Rochelle were, a table between them, a TV on the wall behind the couch Rochelle and Nick were on (it was playing a commercial about pills), a dining table to the right of the room with chairs, and a foosball table in the center of the room.

"Coach is cooking?" Zoey headed over to the free couch and plopped down. It was as welcoming as ever.

"Yep, he insisted," Nick's eyes were closed.

"Nick, I don't want your feet near me. Can't you turn around?" Rochelle pouted.

"Why?" They don't smell that bad," the conman opened one of his eyes at her.

"Because I said so."

"I still don't see why-"

"Nick," her tone suddenly sharpened.

"Okay okay fine…" Nick sat up and laid his head an inch or two away from Rochelle with his feet almost hitting the couch's arm. Even Bill's couch was fairly long.

Rochelle smiled and patted his head, "That's better."

"So… what's for dinner?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah man! I'm starvin'. What's he makin'? I didn't know he could cook and shit! Well I can see him makin' hot dogs or some barbequed food, unless he's makin' those, because in that case I wouldn't be flippin' out so much," Ellis had jumped onto the couch next to Zoey. He was just a ball of energy.

"I think spaghetti…" Rochelle put a finger to her lips, deep in thought.

"Haven't had pasta in a long time," Ellis put his feet on the table in front of them, "been eating instant noodles and eggs lately."

"What type of combination is that Ellis?" Nick raised a brow at him, "Normal people eat eggs with bacon. Oh wait, you're not normal. How could I forget?"

Ellis laughed while Rochelle smacked the top of Nick's head.

Francis sat down on the floor next to Zoey, "I hate standing for no reason."

"Hopefully you don't hate Bill's carpet more," Zoey pointed out.

"This carpet's too soft and cuddly to be hated, just like my lucky sock," Francis lifted up his left foot showing it off to the group, "I haven't changed it for a week!"

Everyone gagged in unison. Francis let his foot fall back down and shot a weird look at the rest of the group, "You all are just freaks."

"Look who's talking," Zoey and Nick mumbled.

"Francis, no one wants to know about your sock," a scraggly voice spoke up from across the room. Zoey turned her head to see who it was, and it was none other than Bill. In his usual getup: green hat and jacket, a shirt, and pants.

"Bill!" She could feel her face brighten up a few degrees.

"Nice to see you again Zoey," he nodded at her, "you too Ellis."

"Great to see you too Bill!" Ellis turned to see the war veteran too.

"I still don't know how you manage to pay the bills for this house old man," Nick smirked, "I tip my hat to you."

"If you were wearin' a hat Nick that would make more sense," the mechanic commented.

"Shut up Ellis."

"Oh okay Nick."

Zoey sat forward again and stared up at the television hung on the wall. There was a bloody title sequence (the title of the movie passed too quickly for Zoey to read what movie it was) followed by credits in an eerie montage of an old abandoned house. "How fitting. Wasn't there a program about dogs playing before this?"

"I sure didn't choose that," the bearded man stated. "Francis's choice."

Francis's head snapped to see Bill, "You lie old man! It was Louis!"

Everyone laughed at the motorcyclist's defensive state. Bill walked over and sat by Ellis, staring at the television, "Coach said the dinner would be ready in half an hour. Something about all the cheese graters and knives gone missing. Making the bread will take longer than he thought."

"The hell?" Nick threw a look of disgust at no one in particular.

"How did they all go missing if none of us took them?" Zoey raised a brow at Bill, confused with the situation.

"I haven't a clue Zoey, I really don't. Let's just enjoy the movie for now," Bill squeezed himself between Ellis and the other arm of the couch. "You enjoy zombie films, right?"

"Definitely," the brunette confirmed as she and the rest of the group began indulging themselves in the movie, except for Rochelle and Nick who insisted on remaining under the television on their couch.

The movie focused on a so-called "pandemic" in the United States. Dead were rising from their graves, ravenous for human flesh. Everyone who was bitten by infected would turn into mindless bodies themselves. How peculiar.

Coach joined the group forty minutes into the movie bringing a huge bowl of spaghetti, a thing of bread, and plates and utensils to use.

Although the movie was thoroughly entertaining, Zoey couldn't help but shake the feeling there was something off about the atmosphere, but what?

She could only wonder.

An hour or two passed, and the movie came to a bloody end. The main character ended up running away from the killer, only for their state of mind to be foggy and messed up. Their life would never be the same.

"Horror movies, they all end the same!" Francis scoffed.

"I bet you would have died first," Nick mumbled about Francis.

"More like you'd want him to die first," Rochelle commented.

Many comments about who'd die came into play. And someone, the conversation came to a close with how delicious the dinner Coach cooked was. Compliments went around the circle, along with burps and requests for seconds. The pasta was delicious, a wonderful change in food selection. She was used to eating the college's cafeteria's food for far too long.

Speaking of food, there was one plate more than people around the table.

She looked at who was on the couches and who was lounging on the floor. There was herself, Ellis, and Louis on one couch. On the other was Rochelle and Nick. Laying on the floor was Francis and Coach. That left...

"Where's Bill?"

Everyone went quiet.

"Wasn't he just here?"

"Damn old man wandering off. He probably got lost in his own house."

"I'll go look for him. He's probably taking inventory of his guns again," Louis stood up and disappeared up the stairs near the entrance of the room.

"We should put a leash on him," the motorcyclist said, "like they have for kids."

"No," Zoey and Nick replied in unison. As entertaining as the idea was, there was no way she'd demean the war veteran. There were many times he acted a fatherly figured and comforted her whether the man was aware of it or not. She was grateful for his existence.

"Well, I still think it's a great id-"

A scream rang from upstairs making Zoey jump in her seat.

The hell?

"Wasn't that Louis?" Ellis had a confused look on his face.

"Probably kicked his foot against a door or something. What a pansy!" Francis bellowed.

"Well, let's go check on him just in case," Rochelle stood up from her seat and tapped Nick's head. "Let's go."

The conman mumbled discontentedly as he rose off the couch and followed Rochelle to the stairs. Francis, Ellis, and Zoey stood up and began to follow the duo.

"I'll clean up down here," Coach called out to them.

"Thanks Coach!" Zoey yelled back.

The mob piled up on the staircase and soon onto the second floor.

Zoey rarely had been up on Bill's second floor. It wasn't anything as extravagant as the previous floor. The space they were in was best described as an open square with wood paneling with light green walls. The walls were once again plastered with framed photos, and plants in pots were scattered around.

Four hallways were visible from where the group was. One to their left, one to their right, and the same held true for the other side. Hallways extended from the corners of the room; four people could stand side by side and fit in their width.

Down the hallway to their left there was an open door with the light on.

"Louis?" Ellis sung out. "What's wrong buddy?"

The pack of survivors crept toward the door and entered the room.

The small room's wall was lined with shelves filled with books. There was a fireplace roaring, and Louis was kneeling with his back towards the group. He stood up and stared at the ground.

"Dead..." he mumbled.

The brunette looked down to where Louis's feet were.

And then Zoey saw it.

Her heart almost stopped from the sight.

There was Bill, laying motionless on the ground with blood plastered all over his face and body.

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><p>Why Bill? What happened to all cheese graters and knives? And why doesn't Francis ever flush the toilet?<p>

I hope you guys enjoyed it! Another chapter or two to come, soon hopefully. I super appreciate reviews too. They make me happy. :D


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